“Carmel” & Cheese: A Chicago Popcorn Tale

I grab the bag of popcorn from Ian, intent on salvaging what little hasn’t reached his mouth yet. He protests but only half-chewed kernels sputter out of his mouth, so full is it. Peering into the now grease-stained bag, I see a disparate mix of khaki and orange — the Chicago mix of caramel and cheese ”“ that has more of the former than the latter.

“Well, what good is it if I don’t have cheese along with the caramel?” I shoot back.

And that, as you can see, is the whole idea behind Chicago-style popcorn.

Until I meet friends and business partners Oliver Ong and Rory Johnson, co-founders of Chicago Popcorn Shops, I don’t realize that popcorn isn’t just popcorn. Even when I visit the ever-famous Garrett’s Popcorn in Chicago, I didn’t realize the travesty I’d committed in daring to compare it to Poppycock and its mass produced ilk. Now I know better and this popcorn pair has set me straight.

“Popcorn is part of Chicago culture,” Rory explains. In the States, October is rightfully National Popcorn Poppin’ Month because of the popcorn harvests which take place each fall (in the Midwest). In fact, it may not be a coincidence that most U.S. popcorn is grown in the Midwest – Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri. Back in the little shop, Rory looms over me, the popcorn professor in the flesh, standing tall and authoritative. “Kids, when they walk home from school, [they] gotta have their ”˜carmel’ and cheese popcorn. Carmel and cheese, that’s the Chicago mix.”

I may know it as “caramel” popcorn but to these two Chicagoans, it’s “carmel.” Even the way they say the word, so gently, almost lovingly, is indicative of its importance, and the way this golden substance is cooked carefully to achieve its superlative bronze sheen.

When they first came to the Philippines two years ago, Oliver and Rory admit they were amused with the popcorn flavors available locally. “Sour cream! Strawberry! Good flavors but it’s not what I do,” Rory exclaims, his voice incredulous, his hands raised in mock surrender. “I only do ”˜carmel’ and cheese.”

As Rory and I talk, Oliver is busy scooping the finished popcorn into airtight containers positioned under the counter. When an order comes in for 50/50 (half caramel, half cheese or whatever the customer’s preference may be) scoops of each flavor are alternately poured into the tin or paper bag followed by a good shake right before the tin is closed or the bag sealed. If you’re lucky enough to be in the store when they cool the caramel popcorn on the stainless steel cooling table, you’re in for quite a show. “Our ”˜carmel’ isn’t just splashed on,” says Oliver. “We ‘carmelize’ and then coat each kernel. And our popcorn is air-popped.”

popcorn coaters

Oliver and Rory had to adjust their caramel recipe to work with Manila’s climate and humidity. Despite the challenge, their ebullience is evident coupled with their insistence on popcorn done properly. “Ingredients matter, the process matters,” Oliver says. “This is handcrafted popcorn. We’re literally crafting this by hand,” echoes Rory. The two touch on their mantra of “making it fresh, keeping it local,” their commitment to using great local ingredients as much as possible; already, they’re huge fans of Philippine sugar.

Chicago-style or even Chicago popcorn achieves a precarious balance that’s salty-sweet and boasts impeccable texture. It’s caramel that rings true with notes of deep brown sugar and butter, and cheese that’s worlds away from the “splash and shake” variety. Though he refused to reveal much, Oliver confirms that they don’t use cheese powder.

When you visit Chicago Popcorn Shops, choose your desired ratio of salty-sweet (Chicago Mix), or go for the Plain, Butter, Karamel Krisp or Cheese. Prices range from P20-P65 for a Single, P40-P120 for a Double and P280 for a tin, which I highly recommend. If you bring the tin back on your next visit you can refill it for just P200 (an introductory offer). I promise you that you’ll finish half the tin and you won’t even know it ”“ or want to share. All you’ll be left with are your cheesy-sweet fingers to lick clean.

Comments

I’m munching from my can right now, hee hee hee hee *crunchCRUNCHcrunchCRUNCH* :9 The insidiousness of this concoction is how with the constant interplay of salty and sweet, it ensures your palate never gets tired of the taste.

Coupled with the lightness of the popcorn (the air-popped-ness is a definite plus!) and it’s a perfect candidate for ‘mindless eating’ in front of the TV (or PC, hehehe) and before you know it, you’ve eaten half the can and you could still keep going.

Why oh why is this in Mall of Asia?! We were traumatized by our first visit to MOA and have not been back there since.

However, this popcorn shop has truly piqued my interest. I love, LOVE cheese popcorn, but only if it’s done right. The cheese popcorn in Greenbelt3 is weak, I prefer the cheese popcorn sold in Rockwell.

And “carmel”! Oooh, I drool. This is the kind of product worth going to MOA for and lugging over to Davao for my cousins.

Btw, the photos were so good, I honestly thought you went to the US for this post! Gawd, they look so good. Will ask Brian if we can pop over MOA for some Chicago popcorn. 😉

Ian texted me about this place and I’m going to be in MOA all of this weekend, so CPS is definitely on my list of things to visit. The shop looks like a twin of Garretts!!! Even the scooping area, golly.
Garretts mix kept me company on a two of the three days of a cross country train trip last year, my fingers were glowing orange as a testament to all my munching.

shucks! i bought a double chicago mix that’s more of the “carmel” but i regretted it ‘coz the Cheese popcorn was so delicious! It was out of this world.. unlike the splash and shake cheese popcorn out there…. so when you head to Chicago Popcorn Shops, ask for more cheese in your mix! Next time I will..Rory and Oliver were very nice and accommodating.. they give out samples too!

I’ll concede the cheese is better than the powder flavoring variety. The “carmel,” sorry, after all the gushing, it just doesn’t come up to snuff. You can buy a bag of a popular chichirya brand of caramel popcorn and get the same quality for much less.

Maybe it’s the popcorn, it simply doesn’t melt in your mouth. And freshness, well, I bought my first can on a Wednesday afternoon, so maybe that’s why there was no detectable difference re: freshness. Maybe I’ll try again on a weekend, and also check out the “carmelizing” and cooling.

The best I can recall is when Holy Kettle K0rn first opened here: huge, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth popcorn, no scratch-your-throat kernel hulls, minimal unpopped kernels if any, which sadly, they don’t have any more.

When I told them I first heard of them from dessertcomesfirst, they did say that a lot of their customers referenced dcf.

i just tried chicago mix last night. and i can say im so disappointed. it didn’t meet what i am expecting. the cheese popcorn is not every crunchy. it lacks cheese. the caramel is too sweet. i will never buy another popcorn from there. such a waste of money. too bad there shop is so nice looking.

im so disappointed with chicago’s popcorn. i like chef tony better. crunchier, and has more flavor. i wasted my time and effort just to buy the popcorn, really a waste.. packaging is also not presentable.

i liked the chicago mix.. although i’d prefer it w/ more caramel than cheese.. the caramel popcorn doesn’t get makunat easily compared to the cheese, so you can store it for a longer time.. but i like the mix.. makes it balanced and not nakakasawa.. addicting!! 🙂

Hi lori! i’ve been following your blog for years and it inspired me to start my own blog. i also featured chicago popcorn there and linked your site. if you time come on over to http://www.shootfirsteatlater.com